- Success Criterion 1.4.2
- Conformance level A
Embedded Ad or Carousel iframe That Starts Playing Audio
1.4.2 — Audio Control
Scenario
Setting
A food delivery app's restaurant menu
What’s wrong
Carousel/ads iframes that start audio — hosting page provides no page-level control.
Example
<audio src="intro.mp3" autoplay></audio>Why it matters
Screen-reader users competing with page audio, and people with auditory sensitivity.
How to test
Load the page: if an embedded iframe (ad, carousel) starts playing audio and the hosting page offers no way to stop it, it fails.
How to fix
Audio must not autoplay beyond 3 seconds without an obvious, keyboard-usable pause/stop/volume control.
<audio src="intro.mp3" autoplay controls></audio>Autoplaying audio past 3 seconds needs a visible, reachable way to pause, stop, or lower its volume.
Outcome
On a food delivery app's restaurant menu, this barrier is gone for screen-reader users competing with page audio — they reach the same outcome without extra effort.
Who is affected
Screen-reader users competing with page audio, and people with auditory sensitivity.
Learn more
- Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)
Related scenarios
- Page Audio That Autoplays Past 3 Seconds With No Control
- Autoplaying Video or Audio With No Way to Pause It
- Background Music That Autostarts With No Visible Player
- Autoplaying Hero Video With Sound and No Pause Button
- Audio That Starts on a Single-Page-App Route Change
- Looping Notification Sound With No Way to Turn It Off